Richard thompson



(No Model.)

R; THOMPSON; STEAM BOILER TUBE CLEANER.

No. 503,559. Patented'Aug. 15, 1893.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RICHARD THOMPSON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

STEAM-BOlLER-TU BE CLEANER.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 503,559, dated August 15, 1893. Application filed April 1'7, 1891. Serial No. 389,286. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, RICHARD THOMPSON, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Steam-Boiler-Tube Cleaners, of which the following is a specification.

My improved cleaner is of that class in which the cleaning is effected by the mechanical action of a strong blast moving through the tubes successively, one at a time. One of the means of inducing such blast is to apply a small device at the end of the tube, having a flexible hose connecting it to a steam-boiler, and to allow the steam alone, or a mixture of steam with air inducted through lateral apertures by the force of the jet, to flow strongly through the tube. This has been done by a single central jet of steam ejected in the middle of the passage. Such have been worked in both directions,--to push or to pull the soot out of the tube. It is better to arrange the device to pull, but it is open to the objection that the passage obstructed by the central steam jet is liable to be choked by the soot. A little choking with soot and wetting with steam cause the device to fill with a hard mass and to fail of producing any eitect. Such practice of sending a mixture of steam and air, or steam alone, through each tube wets the interior of the tubes. If the boiler is cold this will be done in part through condensation, and even if the boiler is so hot as is necessary when the fire has been recently drawn and the cleaning is to be effected by steam from the same boiler, the steam is rarely, if ever, quite free from particles of unevaporated water. Whatever the causes, practice shows that tubes thus treated are liable to scale or cake with hardened soot, which cannot be ascribed to any other cause than moisture received through the steam in cleaning. It is of advantage to reverse. I make the instrument capable of being reversed,--sending the jets of steam inclined from instead of toward the boiler, and guarding against inducting air laterally, but requiring all which is inducted to come through the tube. The device must allow the steam-jets sufficient length to exert their full efiect on the air, but beyond that it is little matter where the mixture of steam, air and soot is discharged. It will ordinarily be used with its discharge nozzle directed upward, and the current of mingled material will be projected upward so far as to be caught by the draft of the chimney and carried away. The discharge nozzle is formed at right augles to the induction nozzle to facilitate such use. The handle is set at an angle, and the device may be easily reversed without shifting the position of the axis of the handle. In the position shown,it will operate by drawing the dirt in the tube toward itself. In the reversed position, it will clean the tube by forcing the dirt away through the tube.

The accompanying drawings form a part of this specification and represent what I consider the best means of carrying out the invention.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my device in position for use. The remaining figures are on a larger scale. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a portion of the device. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the same portion, with a small partof the adjacent tube and tubesheet to which it is applied.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts in all the views where they appear.

A is a tube, and A a tube-sheet.

B is the main body of my cleaner, certain portions being designated, when necessary, by super-numerals, as B. It is formed with a nozzle B, adapted to match in the end of any tube of the ordinary sizes, and with a nozzle B arranged at right angles to B, adapted to discharge the current upward, and allow it to be seized and carried away by the draft of the stack, not shown, but which it will be understood may be connected in any ordinary or suitable manner above.

B is a steam ring,--a circular or annular chamber cored in the casting, and having a nozzle B which receives a tube 0. To the opposite end of G is rigidly attached a handle D, of wood, or cased in some good nonconductor of heat. A hose E leads from a side nozzle 0 on this tube 0 to any convenient steam supply; under proper conditions it may be the same boiler. A series of small holes I) drilled in the upper side of the steamring B allow the steam received at a good pressure through the hose E and tube 0 to issue in strong jets through such apertures. These being directed away from the tube A induce a flow of atmospheric airin at the opposite end of the tube, and flowing dry without admixture with steam through the tube are afterward mingled with steam and ejected through the nozzle B I have not determined by experiment how muchif at 1.11 more than here shown the nozzle B 'should be prolonged to allow the steam jets issuing through the apertures 17 to have their full effect. If the nozzle B ought to be longer, the device can be so made, either in the single casting or by attaching a piece. I believe the form shown to be the best, but it can be varied. I propose to attach any suitable tube to aid in leading away the dust and steam and air When required.

I attach importance to the fact that the handle D is set at about an angle of forty-five degrees to the position of the device when in use, for the reason among others that it allows the easy reversal of the action of the device. It is only necessary, when the device is working in the position shown, to remove it out of contact with the boiler, and partially rotate the handle D as an axis. By causing it to perform a half revolution on its axis, holding the handle with its axis in the same position as shown,-and again moving the device bodily into contact with the the proper relation to a tube, the jets will be directed toward the boiler instead of from it, and the action of the device will 'be efiectually reversed. It is in such position a blowing cleaner, instead of a sucking cleaner, pushing the dirt away by a current of steam driven into the tube instead of drawing the dirt out by a current of air induced by the jets of steam in the reverse direction.

Modifications may be made by any good mechanic without departing from the principle or sacrificing the advantages of the invention.

boiler shell in Parts of the invention can be used without the whole.

I claim as my invention 1. The reversible tube-cleaner described consisting of the body portion formed with a nozzle B to match the end of a tube, a nozzle B2 at right angles thereto, and a steam ring between said nozzles having a threaded nozzle B at a point distant from the nozzle B, said steam ring being provided with perforations extending in an inclined direction in proximity to the walls of the nozzle B means for'admitting steam to said ring, a tube secured in the nozzle 13, a handle on said tube, said handle and tube being set at an angle of about forty five degrees to the steam ring whereby the devicemay be readily reversed to direct the steam either toward or from the boiler by a partial rotation of the said handle, substantially as specified.

2. The reversible tube-cleaner described, consisting of the body portion formed with a nozzle B to match the end of a tube, a nozzle B at right angles thereto, and a steam ring between said nozzles having a threaded nozzle B at a point distant from the nozzle B, said steam ring being provided with inclined perforations in proximity to the walls of the nozzle B a tube secured in the nozzle 13, a handle on said tube, a side nozzle on the tube and a flexible hose connected with the side nozzle and adapted for connection with a source of steam supply, all substantially as shown and described.

In testimony, that I claim the invention above set forth I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

* RICHARD THOMPSON.

Witnesses:

THOMAS D. STETSON, CHAs. D. EVANS. 

